Member Info for Alessandro

A strong US opening may offer some tailwind here in the afternoon. A strong close will support the share price tomorrow. If the day had been more volatile I would have traded it in and out. But it seems there is too much upside pressure to sell hoping for a lower price

It may take 2-3 trading days to go back to the 30s, my first trading range

Mazerunner if it is a direct competitor how do you explain that IQE is/was not getting the same trend in volume of orders then?

AXTI may get a better valuation because is listed in the US.

Does AXTI have a larger manufacturing capacity?

@m007j I would not compare AXT to IQE. IQE is focused on different tech (GaAs) and is in financial distress. It has a great turnaround potential, but IQE has a history of overpromising and underdelivering.

The current valuation is very low though.

The rise is suspicious. Is this the beginning of a massive breakout? New contracts? An acquisition?

*£200m per year over the next five years

If JD repurchases £200m per year, hypothetically it would retire 40-50% of the free float (considering that Pentland owns 50%+).

That alone could double the share price.

With a chunky buyback we have a reason to hope for the share price to be depressed (if you're a long term investor)

JD Sports Fashion Launches New £200 Mln Share Buyback Programme

Socks!? Could have gifted yourself a nice 'The North Face' jacket.

I am surprised of the little volatility in recent weeks. JD has always been quite volatile.

SG2025, when I "discussed" this with ChatGTP I made the same observation.

ChatGTP response was that JD provides the global reach, as Pentland stuff are stocked in JD warehouses. Which is certainly true, I however doubt JD gives little attention to JD's profits over profits from their own brands. JD profits are paper profits for Pentland (for now), they can't deploy the cash in other family's businesses. I am not sure how they plan to monetize without selling stock, especially with such weak valuation.

I appreciate you sharing, just pointing out IQE has been blowing their own trumpet for ages (even before 2022 when this report was submitted) but did not translate in meaningful revenue. Which eventually made me sell my entire stake (I am very cautiously in again, just taking a flyer).

@gotreal

You forgot to quote the most important part:

"Written submission from IQE plc (SEM0075)"

Bjet thanks for sharing your thoughts

Pentland’s largest retailer by a mile is JD Sports.

So for Pentland-owned brands:

JD is not just “a customer”

It is the anchor distribution channel

Industry people routinely estimate:

One-third to one-half of Pentland brand volume flows through JD

If JD shrinks:

Pentland brands lose shelf space

Lose volume

Lose negotiating power

Lose relevance

So Pentland will always choose:

more JD stores + more JD inventory

over

higher JD margins

Because losing JD volume would hit 30–50% of their brand revenue.

Pentland's only interest is footprint and expansion to provide vital shelf space to its own brands, over JD's profitability. That's where the real money are made for them.

Pentland would likely have to spend £1.6–2bn to take JD private.

They don’t do it yet because:

They can already use JD as infrastructure for free

and they want to buy the rest as cheaply as possible.

That creates a permanent overhang on JD’s share price — and it is exactly what you have been intuitively picking up.

AI stuff when you ask the right question:

JD is being run to serve Pentland’s strategic interests, not minority shareholders’ ROIC.

What Pentland actually wants from JD

Pentland is not just a financial shareholder. It is:

A brand owner (Speedo, Berghaus, Ellesse, etc.)

A global distributor

A supply-chain operator

A sportswear ecosystem builder

JD Sports is their retail engine — their route to market.

Pentland’s objective is not:

“Maximise JD Sports’ margins this year”

It is:

“Control the global sports-fashion distribution channel”

JD is being used as infrastructure, not a profit centre.

Schultz is not incompetent — he is aligned.

His background (Puma, adidas) is:

Brand

Distribution

Global rollout

Not:

Retail austerity

Inventory optimisation

Cash harvesting

He is building a global retail platform:

Hundreds of stores in the US

Europe scale

Asia expansion

Massive inventory capacity

That is exactly what Pentland needs to:

Push its brands

Get leverage over Nike / adidas

Control how product reaches consumers

A ruthless cost-cutter CEO would destroy that.

Thoughts?

Key do you think the company fair value is 85p?